I get the sense Eric Zorn is somewhat overedited at times probably being smart and editing himself. However, the ‘city’ columnist has gone a little over the edge apparently deciding he’s as funny as the guy he replaced and made fun of Rich Whitney for his position on the Spotted Owl. Of course, Whitney is such a moron he joins in the fun.

An owl that lives on the west coast of North America.

For those unclear why such a point is friggen stupid, Illinois is, in fact, east of the Mississippi and the geographic center of the Continental United States—okay, the geographic center of the United States.

Worse yet, and why Rich Whitney is a friggen idiot, the Spotted Owl isn’t some random species, but an indicator species that ‘indicates’ the general health of an entire ecosystem. Those who would try and run as a ‘green’ candidate might actually try and be green and actually educate the public about the importance of indicator species that don’t even affect local ecosystems or they can pander on guns and crap and pretend to be sticking it to the man. Nevermind that in an election determined by swing voters in the middle, Whitney cannot explain why he has a chance, instead attempting to attract votes from essentially right wing voters on a right wing talking point. Green isn’t so green.

If Atrios were covering this, he’d have a heart attack about this crap. Worse yet, so should the environmentalists in Illinois.

Between disappointments over Stroger and Blagojevich it’s hard to figure out for whom one should vote. Right now, and given moving hasn’t occurred before the registration deadline (hint about future posts), I’m leaning towards the idiot who can at least promise to presever the single most important historical site in Illinois—Cahokia Mounds. Topinka has offered some lip service, but no one has offered a serious plan to preserve the entire site.

Maybe the Trib Editorial Board could focus on something practical like that since their ‘City columnist” thinks issues in Oregon, Washington, and Canada are vitally important to Illinois voters.